Staying alive all the way through 2013 is a major accomplishment. With just a few days to go until 2014, the countdown has begun; the suspense is building. Maybe you and I will live to see the new year, but then again…maybe not. If you are up for some sober reflection, consider a few doomsday scenarios that could easily do us in.

1. Disease and natural disasters

Exactly how many contagious diseases could one person catch? More than I can count anyway. And there must be just as many meteorites zipping on by at a million miles per hour. The other day one blew up over Montreal. Sorry, but wearing a hard hat (even a very good one) isn’t going to help. Whether it’s global warming or global cooling or super-mega-crazy storms, it doesn’t take long for humanity to be humbled.

2. Terrorists and global tyrants

On top of that, in case anyone forgot, we live in an age of military madness. Yes, one little nuclear bomb can still ruin your whole day; and quite a few countries are packing – eventually, Iran might be one of them. Blowing things up is a pastime that appeals to a large number of people. With all the combined conventional and nuclear firepower, a visitor to this planet might get the impression that we are preparing for Armageddon. Maybe we are.

3. Cruelty and human hatred

Oh, and in case you haven’t noticed, a lot of people down here don’t like each other. Media companies could easily talk about nothing but slander and assault and lawsuits and quarrels and threats and deadly violence. Over in New York City, and sadly in other places as well, some people enjoy randomly punching strangers and knocking them out just for fun. There is enough human hatred to keep a small army of journalists occupied, even if they only focus on the war against Christians in Africa and the Middle East.

Survival in itself is something to celebrate. In many countries, the odds of staying alive for very long are not good. Even in comparatively safe and stable countries, threats to life and liberty abound.

Whatever differences there may be between us, you and I have two things in common: We are both mere mortals and we both live in a world plagued with problems. It is in this context that we must each attempt to do what we can to make a difference.

So don’t get caught off guard by suffering and pain and problems – and even death – in the new year. These things have been part of this fallen world for quite some time now. And don’t waste your time blaming God and wondering why your little part of the planet hasn’t been protected or spared. These mysteries are beyond our understanding.

There are, of course, some who view the so-called “problem of pain” as a knock-down argument countering the conviction that there is a loving and powerful God. This ancient problem (it is nothing new) basically has four parts: the reality of suffering, the existence of God, the belief that God is good, and the conviction that this God is all-powerful. If you remove any of these parts, you don’t have a problem anymore. But if you add one more (i.e. God is much smarter than us) then you have a mystery.

At the same time, don’t forget that there is good reason to believe that all wrongs will be made right, and that one day most of creation will be restored to its original state. There is hope. And this hope is huge. What we know to be normal on earth now is not really normal. Not at all. In addition, keep in mind that God is present in this broken world. In other words, you and I have not been abandoned. We are not alone as we face the future.

But feelings can have a way of sneaking up behind us from time to time and overpowering our core convictions. Try not to let that happen in 2014. What we may feel at any given moment does not determine what is true or what is real. Remember that. What you know in your head may be quite different from how you feel in your heart.

And yet, feelings can also help us understand. Many are shocked and surprised and temporarily stunned when confronted by raw suffering and personal pain. We suddenly feel that suffering and pain is wrong; that it just doesn’t fit. Pain feels like an intruder, like an obnoxious and uninvited guest at a party that had been going quite well.

Happiness is more easily connected with the restoration of creation, and participation in this process, than with any particular new year. But I hope you have a very happy new year nonetheless.

Whatever happens, keep moving ahead and keep doing what you can to make a difference.

A leader with a credible plan inspires confidence. By way of contrast, a leadership team with a deeply flawed plan or no plan at all isn’t going to be leading for long.

Years ago, the Rhinoceros Party had a brilliant plan to build a ramp on the Rocky Mountains to reduce the consumption of gasoline and presumably save the environment. How would that work? Well, people living in western Canada would then be able to get in their cars and coast from coast to coast.

As I recall, another plank in their platform was to train millions of grasshoppers, a.k.a grainhoppers, to carry prairie grain to the coastal ports. This creative transportation system was devised to counter the excessive fees charged by powerful railroad barons.

Yes, this was all a big joke back then. And no, this comical political party didn’t get any votes. An illustration nonetheless that it is very difficult to lead without a plan that people feel inclined to follow.

Dealing with problems

Leading involves, among other things, taking significant action in an attempt to improve an undesirable situation. To point out the obvious, it is also usually assumed that the chosen action will be strategic and well thought out. Leaders are seldom called upon to wait around, staring out their office windows day after day, while naively hoping that everything will work out. But at the same time, a hasty and haphazard decision – a shot from the hip – is rarely well received or what is really required.

Leadership is not for the faint of heart. National problems, organizational issues, and personal roadblocks are often pressing and complex. In such a context, leading the way required a large amount of research, planning, praying, and an ability to weigh various options in a short period of time. More often than not, a cliff of some sort is visible on the horizon; the clock is loudly ticking; time is running out; difficult decisions must be made. And somebody has to make them.

As the old saying goes: “There are those who make things happen, those who watch things happen, and those who wonder what happened.”

Again, being a part of a leadership team requires hard work; it is not an easy task. People in leadership positions are often expected to act quickly and wisely in the best interests of others. If only the best decision was always immediately obvious! Inviting a variety of perspectives is often helpful. But based on my own experience, routinely criticizing what has been proposed is much easier than putting together a new proposal.

When the pressure is on and people all around are looking for action, it may seem like any old course of action will do. Thus the ongoing temptation to appear to be taking appropriate action without doing much that is necessarily truly helpful in the long run.

Developing potential

But whether you are responsible to lead a nation, an organization, a family, or simple yourself, the challenge is the same. First of all, you must identify the most pressing problem you face and put together a plan to deal with it. Positive action is required where it matters the most; you can’t fix everything. Second, it is a good idea to make a point of not doing anything grandiose or downright ridiculous when it comes to finances.

Planning and policy perfection is impossible to obtain from everyone’s perspective. But ego-inflating, utopian, and crackpot ideas are a little more obvious: they can be spotted from a mountain top and even from outer space. With this in mind, it will come as no surprise to be reminded that many people, nations, and organizations urgently need to find a way to balance their budgets and begin to pay off their debt. This problem isn’t merely over in Europe or confined to Washington, D.C.

As millionaires rack up their millions, billionaires pay interest on billions, and trillionaires borrow yet another trillion, many ordinary and average individuals get themselves deeper and deeper into debt. One result of all of this collective digging is that at some point the hole will be so deep that it will be impossible to ever get out.

And what are we all going to do down there?

Financial mismanagement has a way of putting the brakes on a healthy human potential movement, bringing it to a screeching halt. Many institutions, individuals, and empires fail to become all that they were intended to be in part because of a lack of funds. But at the same time, seeking wise financial advice is one way to attempt to reverse this trend and begin to deal with the damage.

Learning to manage your own finances, putting together a solid financial plan, is a good way to prepare to develop your own potential and the potential of many other people.

Problems and pressure. If you want to develop your personal potential or the potential of your organization or nation it may be beneficial to find a few more problems and feel some pressure.

It goes without saying, that feeling forced isn’t usually much fun. Most of us would likely prefer to feel free to make decisions at our leisure. But very little of consequence is accomplished if everyone is always feeling comfortable and carefree. Necessity is the mother of all inventions for a reason and not perpetual prosperity.

Too much time spent at the country club or on vacation leads to personal stagnation and, when added together, national decline. Illusions of endless peace or economic growth will also inspire few to take action. Meanwhile, deadlines and a sense of urgency actually works to your advantage.

Duty and danger, for example, cause many to rise to the occasion and accomplish what seemed absolutely impossible moments ago. Personal limits are surpassed under pressure.

This isn’t to say that depriving or otherwise applying pressure to others is usually a good idea. Parenting, coaching, management, friendships, and international relationships require diplomacy and great care. Creating a pressure-cooker environment isn’t normally a good way of relating. Too much pressure and too many problems is counterproductive: people soon feel overwhelmed and threatened. The crank-up-the-pressure method is unnecessarily provocative as a standard approach, creating discouragement, resentment and little that is positive.

That said, very few people or organizations – not to mention entire nations – will ever reach their full potential without some form of outside pressure. Graduation is approaching, bills need to be paid, the budget must be balanced, the Barbarians are at the gate, etc. Action is required and decisions must be made – before it is too late.

Facing a difficult situation and even embracing adversity often makes sense. While some problems can be devastating, others will one day be regarded as friends. So invite them in. Allow problems to have a positive influence in your life. Accept pressure as a part of the process.

As you know, my home country, Canada, has vast natural resources, very few people, and limited capabilities in terms of national defence. At the same time, many of Canada’s major allies are presently struggling in a world that is arguably becoming a more dangerous place. Power is shifting. While this isn’t all bad, the reality is that global tyrants abound; dictators are a dime a dozen. And potentially hostile nations are arming fast. To make the situation worse, our fleet of CF-18 fighter planes is wearing out and will soon need to be replaced.

No, this may not be the worst of times down here on the earth, but it sure isn’t the best of times either. While my home province, Saskatchewan, is doing better than it has before, many other places on the planet are in rough shape.

Back to Canada. So rather than hearing politicians discussing matters of comparatively little consequence, it is now possible to listen to a lively debate concerning which type of fighter plane Canada should buy. Will F-35s be parked on the tarmac, roaring down the runways, or evading enemy radar beyond the horizon in the not-too-distant future? I don’t know. But I do know, that if our trading partners and allies were strong, if the world felt safe, and if our dated planes were good for another 50 years or so, we would probably continue to be comparatively weak and dependent as a nation for many years to come.

With fewer problems and less incentive to change, Canadians would likely wake up one morning tragically late only to discover that their resource strength and military weakness had not gone unnoticed.

As it is, my home country has been forced to grow and develop. I suppose it could be said that Canada is growing up. Rather than practicing our posture as sitting ducks, economic development is now slowly being supported by a growing capacity for self-defence.

Problems and pressure have a positive role to play.

Do you have a pressing problem that might eventually work out for your benefit? Is your country facing a difficult situation that could help you reach your true collective potential?

It has been observed many times before that problems can be positive. Adversity can work to your advantage. So let hardship help you move ahead.

Problems are hard to come by – almost impossible to find. Stress is just beyond our grasp. So elusive. Most of you have more friends than you know what to do with, and much more money than you can manage.

Sunshine. Good times. That is likely all you have ever known. But not knowing where to turn, you try to make do the best you can.

Such is life. The trials of this life.

Many have noticed that the entire human story is, more or less, all about living in a state of perpetual bliss. You have noticed too, haven’t you? Happiness and contentment. Peace and joy. Health and prosperity. Harmony and unity. That is what life is mostly all about in this corner of the Milky Way. Isn’t it? It never seems to end, and it is getting old. Life unrolls before us like a red carpet day after day.

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Just a thought

Questions to consider: What do you enjoy doing the most? What are you interested in? And what are you good at? How have you been affirmed by others in the past? If you could do one thing, what would you do? Based on your life so far, what should you do next?